Last week, Disney and Pixar debuted the first official (non-teaser) trailer for Toy Story 4, which is set to release later this year. As reported by The Inquisitr , this new trailer reunited a handful of the series’ most iconic and beloved characters, including cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks), space cadet Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and Bo Peep (Annie Potts), who has been absent from the series for 20 years.
Pixar fans have also gotten a glimpse at several new characters, including Forky (Toby Hale), a utensil-turned-toy; and a pair of loudmouthed carnival prizes, voiced by none other than Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key.
That being said, up until now, Pixar has kept rather quiet about who would be taking on the role of the villain in Toy Story 4. Recently, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Josh Cooley pulled back the curtain on the series’ newest antagonist.
Throughout the franchise, many of the films’ villains were equal part terrifying and intimidating, but that’s all about to change in Toy Story 4. This time around, the role of bad guy has been handed over to Gabby Gabby, a vintage doll who will command a legion of other toys.
Fittingly, Gabby Gabby will be voiced by none other than Christina Hendricks, who is best known for her roles on AMC’s Mad Men and NBC’s Good Girls. Josh Cooley explained his excitement when the development team landed on Hendricks to voice the role.
“We couldn’t have picked a better person to voice our villain than Christina Hendricks,” Cooley told Entertainment Weekly . “It’s perfect. She can play such sweet innocence and kindness, and then at the flip of a switch, she can go just so cold and terrifying. It’s so much fun.”
As Cooley explains, Gabby Gabby is a pull-string doll from a bygone era, who has been relegated to a life in a rather quiet antique store. Having been stuck there for over 60 years, it seems Gabby will rain terror upon Woody and the gang, thanks to her legion of voiceless ventriloquist dummies.
Inspired by an episode of #TheTwilightZone , get to know #ToyStory ‘s villain, Gabby Gabby https://t.co/NYNgpqhgNN
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) March 28, 2019
As Christina Hendricks explains, Gabby’s defective voice box has prevented her from being loved by a child, and in turn, she has never learned to love back.
“Because of this defect, she has never known the love of a child or been able to fulfill her destiny to love one back,” Hendricks told People .
Toy Story 4 is set to release on June 21, 2019. It will be the first feature-length film directed by Josh Cooley, who previously helmed the short film, Riley’s First Date
